Orwell, George: Animal Farm

The book is about a Farm where the animals make a revolution and chase away
the farmowner with his family. For a while everything works great and everybody
is happy. But on and on the pigs, who make the organization part on the farm,
get more and more like humans. They even change "the seven rules of Animalism"
one by one and in the end the other animals can`t divide them from humans, which
used to be their enemies and then are the friends of the pigs.

Summary:

Mr. Jones is the owner of the "Manor Farm", he is often drunk and treats
his animals badly. One night Major, an old boar, calls out for all animals to
come to the big barn. He tells them about his vision of freedom and Animalism,
and how their live would be improved. The main facts are that human beeings are
the enemies, and they just can survive through rebellion, and all animals are
comrades and equal, at the end he teaches them a song called "Beasts of
England". He says that there is no special time for the rebellion but it will
be, sooner or later. Three days later Major dies, but the animals keep his
vision in mind. One day Mr. Jones comes home late and drunk and forgets to feed
the animals. So in the morning the animals are starving and the rebbellion
starts. They brake down the doors and feed themselves. Jones tries to control
them but the animals are stronger and so he and his wife have to leave. Now the
farm belongs to the animals. There are two pigs Napoleon and Snowball who follow
the thought of old Major and work out "The Seven Rules Of Animalism", which they
write in big letters onto the the barn, so that everybody can see them. They are
the following:

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a
friend.

3. No animal shall wear clothes.

4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.

5. No animal shall drink alcohol.

6. No animal shall kill another animal.

7. All animals are equal.

The pigs are more intelligent than the other animals and so they do the
thinking part, the organization, on the farm. There are another main characters.
Like the three horses Boxer the cart-horse, Cluver and Mollie the two mares,
Benjamin, the donkey and some more. After they have milked the cows, which was
necessary, they all together go to the fields to do the harvest. As they are
finished the milk is gone. Later they find out that it is mixed to the food of
the pigs, for keeping them healthy and do the brainwork, which, how Squealer,
another pig good at talking, tells them is imported to prevent the coming back
of Mr. Jones. This year the harvest was better than ever and all animals are
satisfied. Each sunday there is a meeting in the barn and the solutions for the
problems are decided by voting, and the song "Beasts Of England" is sung.
Snowball tries to teach the animals reading, and reduces the seven Rules into
"Four legs good, two legs bad" for the sillier ones. Napoleon takes nine puppies
and brings them up hidden. There are two farms next to the "Animal Farm", how it
is called since the rebellion has started. It`s the Foxwood Farm and the
Pinchfield Farm. One day Jones comes back, with a few men, leading an attack
against the farm. But the animals led by Snowball defeat it bravely. That day is
called then the day of "The Battle Of Cowshed". Everytime Snowball makes a
suggestion for anything at the sundays meetings, Napoleon is against it. As
Sowball has the idea to build a windwill, to have later on a better live,
because of the electrical power, the light and the warm water, Napoleon
disagrees and lets his nine, already grown up, puppies attack Snowball. He has
to flee and just escapes with his life. Napoleon forbidds the sunday meetings
and decides all problems by himself. Some animals are against it and ask why
Snowball was driven away, even he fought that brave in the "Battle Of Cowshed".
But Squealer, who becomes more and more the right hand of Napoleon argues that
Snowball was on Mr. Jones side, and they all don`t want Mr. Jones to come back.
The dogs are like a security guard and every time any animal doesn`t agree with
the pigs, it is warned by the dogs. Napoleon even decides to let the windmill be
built, and says that it was his idea, just stolen from Snowball. During the next
summer the animals work like slaves, building the windmill and working on the
fields. Espacially Boxer works very hard. There isn`t more food than before the
rebellion, it is equal or even less, but the animals mostly don`t recognize, and
those who do, they say "it`s better having less food, than Mr. Jones coming
back." The pigs behave more and more like humans, and even move to the
farmhouse. They also sleep in beds. And as the animals think about the fourth
rule, they have to find it changed on the barnwall into "No animal shall sleep
in beds with sheets". Napoleon, called the Leader, starts dealing with
the humans of the other farms through Mr. Whymper. In Autumn the windmill is
half-built as it is destroyed by a great storm. The Leader says it was Snowball
who came back. There is less food in the winter and so the hens have to give
away their eggs for selling. The animals start to rebuilt the windmill. One day
four pigs are sentenced to death and killed by the dogs, because they alleged
have been in league with Snowball. A few days later the animals find the sixth
rule changed into "No animal shall kill any other animal without cause."
In autumn the windmill is finished and named "Napoleon Mill". Some days later it
is destroyed by the farmer of the neighbourfarm and about a dozen men with guns
and dynamite. A lot of animals are killed, but they win again. One day a pig
finds some whiskey and so they drink it. And from now on the fiftth rule is
changed into "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess." And again the
animals start rebuilding the mill. There also should be built a school for the
young pigs. One day boxer, who is twelve years old, brakes down. Instead of
bringing him to a hospital as he said, Napoleon gets Boxer to a slaugtherhouse.

Years later only some of the animals are alive who where there before the
rebellion. The farm is richer than before and the windmill has been finished,
but isn`t used for electrical power, but for milling corn, which is sold. One
day Squealer takes some sheeps and teaches them the new rule "Four legs good,
two legs better." From that day on the pigs walk on their hind legs. Clover and
Benjamin, who are both very old, go to the barn and find just one rule is left
"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." A week later some
humans come to the farm to celebrate a feast with the pigs, and as the other
animals look through the windows into the farmhouse they cant divide the pigs
from the humans.

Persons:

Old Major, the pig:

Without him there wouldn`t have been any revolution. He gives the other
animals a vision, a hope for a better life and for that he is very respected.
Even as he is dead his head is brought to the sunday meetings.

Napoleon, a pig:

He always tries to make everything better just for himself. He rarely works
and even when he does it is only for his own advantage. There is nothing he wont
do to suppress the others.

Snowball, a pig:

He really tries to change anything, to make a better living for everybody.
He is not selfish and does the brainwork because it has to be done.

Squealer, a pig:

He is a very good talker, and thats why he is responsible for the
propaganda. He changes the bad things into good things just by telling them
different. So the animals mostly believe that everything is alright.

Boxer, the cart-horse:

He is the type of guy who doesn`t think, in his case because he isn`t that
intelligent. But only through people like him the dictator is able to supress
them. His two mottos are "I will work harder" and "Napoleon is always right".
For him that seems to be enough to solve all the problems.

Benjamin, the donkey:

He is the type of guy who is very intelligent but is not interested in
anything, because he thinks that nothing will change, everything will stay that
bad as it is.

Moses, the raven:

He stands for the Religion and is always preaching about Sugar candy
mountain, which is something like heaven.